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 #2 (permalink) Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:36 am Answer |
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Hi,
You said:
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| I think the right answer is "toothpicks" rather than toothbrushes. |
we said:
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I can't seem to find the new tube of toothpaste that I purchased from the supermarket yesterday.
Correct answer: (c) toothpaste
Your answer was: correct |
Alan
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Alan
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| #3 (permalink) Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:14 am Toothpicks versus toothbrushes |
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| i know toothpaste is the right answer. But why not toothpick? |
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Tae_Way
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| #4 (permalink) Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:59 am Toothpicks versus toothbrushes |
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| The collocation 'tube of toothpicks' seems weird to me. Tube is used for containing liquids... As for 'toothpicks' you can use 'box', for example |
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 Pamela
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| #5 (permalink) Thu Mar 22, 2007 13:43 pm Toothpicks versus toothbrushes |
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You might possibly be able to find toothpicks in some sort of tube somewhere, but it's not a standard type of packaging for toothpicks and, as Pamela said, it's not a typical collocation.
However, I think it's safe to say you will never find "a tube of toothpick" (i.e. one toothpick packaged in a tube).
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Yankee
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| #6 (permalink) Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:01 pm Toothpicks versus toothbrushes |
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| Please explain:'I can't seem to find..' Can't it be simply: 'I can't find...'?? |
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Saneta
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| #7 (permalink) Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:26 pm Toothpicks versus toothbrushes |
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| Saneta wrote: |
| Please explain:'I can't seem to find..' Can't it be simply: 'I can't find...'?? |
Yes, it means 'I can't find' or, more precisely, 'it seems I can't find'. |
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Conchita
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| #8 (permalink) Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:36 pm Toothpicks versus toothbrushes |
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Hi Saneta
The expression "can't seem to (do)" is idiomatic. It means "be apparently unable to (do)". In the test sentence, the sense I get from "can't seem to find" is an emphasis of the idea that "even though I've tried to find it, I cannot".
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| This phrase gives added emphasis to a negative statement |
Look here at the definition of "can't seem to".
Of course you can also say "I can't find the new tube of toothpaste....", but that would be a simple statement of fact, with no added emphasis.
.
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| What are the three categories of Torts? | Rubbish vs. litter |
